Two Israeli films get best doc nominations

LOS ANGELES — Two Israeli films are among the five nominated for best documentary for the Academy Awards.

5 Broken Cameras, directed by Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi, and The Gatekeepers, directed by Dror Moreh, were among the films chosen from 15 finalists of the 126 films that entered in the category when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the Oscar nominees last Thursday.

5 Broken Cameras documents the first years of life for Burnat’s baby against the backdrop of the West Bank village of Bil’in’s battle against the Israeli security fence. Burnat said five of his cameras were smashed by the Israeli army as he documented friends and family members being shot and injured by Israeli troops. The film won the documentary director’s award this year at the Sundance Film Festival.

The Gatekeepers consists of lengthy, and surprisingly frank, interviews with six former heads of Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, discussing the past, present and likely future of the tumultuous regional conflicts. Earlier this week it was named the best nonfiction film of 2012 by the National Society of Film Critics in the United States.

Lincoln led the nominations with 12, including for best film and best director. Nominated in their respective categories were Steven Spielberg as director, as well as co-producer (with Kathleen Kennedy), playwright Tony Kushner for best adapted screenplay and Daniel Day-Lewis for best actor.

Mark Boal is up for his original screenplay Zero Dark Thirty on the hunt for Osama bin Laden, while Benh Zeitlin, whose father is Jewish, is in competition as director of Beasts of the Southern Wild.

Israel, whose entries made the top five shortlists of best foreign-language films in four of the last five years, struck out this time with Fill the Void, an insider’s view of haredi life in Tel Aviv.

Among the films submitted by 71 countries, five dealt with the Jewish fate during the Nazi era and its aftermath. Though none made the final five, their themes indicate that the Holocaust theme still fascinates international filmmakers.